Even in the midst of recent uncertainty with the UK’s Brexit vote, the EU has done something great in the name of free trade and progress – making today cause for celebration. It’s not every day that a new government regulation is universally positive and unequivocally advances business forward – but such is the case with the new eIDAS (Electronic Identification and Signature) regulation which goes into full force today in Europe. And for that I want to both humbly congratulate and thank European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and the Commissioners responsible for standardising electronic identification, trust services and signatures across the EU. You have paved the way for Europe’s digital transformation, making it easier for organisations large and small to do business from and within the EU.

As the Chairman and CEO of a global technology company, I spend a fair amount of my time meeting with C-Suite executives of organisations in nearly every industry around the world. Time and again, what I hear from them is that “going digital”, “going paperless” or “transforming their business digitally” is among their top three strategic objectives – and for many it’s the #1 priority.

And it’s no wonder. Moving from antiquated, manual paper-based processes to a fully automated digital business positively impacts most every area in which CEOs are measured: Revenues, efficiency and cost, security and compliance, customer experience and even sustainability. According to a study by Capgemeni Consulting and MIT Sloan Management, The Digital Advantage: How Digital Leaders Outperform Their Peers In Every Industry, organisations with greater digital maturity achieve, on average, 9% higher profits, 26% greater profitability, and a 12% higher market valuation. Wow.

Equally impressive is that the Commissioners behind eIDAS had the foresight to roll up their sleeves and work tirelessly over the last several years to evolve and improve upon the existing EU Directive on eSignature to bring a new, clear and simple regulation into full effect today.

Up until now, digital transformation had posed its challenges across Europe. Varying Member State interpretation of EU Directive 1999/93/EC on electronic signatures created a challenging environment for cross-border electronic commerce. Companies wasted time and money worrying about the requirements for legally-enforceable transactions depending on the country where they were doing business, rather than focusing on what matters most: the customer/partner/supplier/employee/investor with whom they were doing business.

eIDAS paves the way for Europe’s Digital Single Market, making EU business more globally competitive by lowering the friction required to transform businesses into the digital age. As a result, EU organisations of all sizes can now realise the benefits of digital transformation – including faster speed to results, decreased risk in security and compliance, and dramatically improved customer experiences – all serving to boost competitive advantage. And when you represent nearly one quarter of the world’s GDP as the EU does, that’s significant.

But eIDAS doesn’t just have positive effect for companies based in the EU. It makes doing business in the region faster, easier, more convenient and secure for everyone – whether you’re a small business or a multi-national enterprise with operations across countries and continents.

In preparation for eIDAS, DocuSign embarked on its boldest initiative in the company’s history in terms of size, scope and magnitude of investment to position customers for success in seizing the tremendous opportunity that digital transformation now offers across the EU. Our “Invest for Europe” initiative over the last two years included technology breakthroughs, extensive platform development, three global acquisitions, and the launch of data centers in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Paris.

Earlier in June at our annual DocuSign MOMENTUM EMEA customer, developer and partner conference, we unveiled our new Standards-Based Signatures suite, Hybrid Cloud Deployment offering, and new Trust Service Provider Program, as well as celebrated advancements in and the expansion of the xDTM Standard Association with new European members BASF, SAP, Dow Jones, Linklaters and Olswang joining 300+ other organizations in endorsing the global standard for Digital Transaction Management.

Our investment in Europe is geared towards helping our European customers achieve all the benefits of digital transformation – especially accelerating their speed to results.

Speed has become the new currency of business; more so than size. No longer do the large eat the small, but rather the fast consume the slow – and going digital is the best way to accelerate speed to results. For all sizes of companies, successfully crossing the digital chasm is critically important, and I believe, the single biggest factor influencing success in business now and in the future.
So my heartfelt congratulations and thanks to the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and the Commissioners.